The Discovery of Dhambalin Rock Art Site, Somaliland

Abstract

Dhambalin, a sandstone rock shelter, was discovered in autumn 2007. The unique site holds polychrome paintings including the first sheep paintings in Somali archaeology. There is an extraordinary originality in the paintings, particularly those of the sheep and goats. There are unusual quality images and styles of humpless cows of which some are headless. The fauna depicted include antelopes, dogs, giraffes, snakes and a turtle, some of which are associated with human figures wearing what appear to be headgears and holding bow and arrows in hunting scenes. Relative dating is possible perhaps through the superimposition of various styles of paintings. Also the site shares some similarities with the Neolithic or protohistoric Arabian–Ethiopian Style in the Horn of Africa. Hence, there is a need for a multidisciplinary approach to the ritual landscapes, religion and identity in the Horn of Africa. With its richness of fauna, including unambiguous depictions of sheep and various styles of depiction of bovine, the new site of Dhambalin will no doubt play a major role in shedding light on pastoral cultures and pre-historic symbolism in the rock art of the Horn of Africa.

Notes

Acknowledgements

I am eternally grateful to the two inhabitants of Beenyo who walked in to my office in Hargeysa on the 21st of Oct, 2007, and for being so persistent I go the Dhambalin shelter near their settlement at Beenyo. I would like to thank H. E. Abdirizaaq Waabari Rooble, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Somaliland for providing funding for the survey trip of Dhambalin. I would like to thank also Mohamed Abdi Ali, my archaeological survey assistance great enthusiasm for the work, and my excellent driver at the time, Adan Haybe. I thank Prof. Fekri A. Hassan, Dr. Aloisia De Trafford and Johan Franzén for useful comments on a draft of this article. I would also like to thank Enrico Crema for assistance with the graphics and Eunice Mabika for the French translation of the article abstract. I also thank Owen Cooney help with the French abstract translation. Last but not least, I thank Ugaso Kahin Bulhan, my indefatigable champion.

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